A New Year
by Miyopiyo
Summary: Ranma and Akane spend some quality time together for New Year's Eve, and Ranma comes up with a New Year's resolution that makes Akane smile.


**Summary: **Ranma and Akane spend some quality time together for New Year's Eve, and Ranma comes up with a New Year's resolution that makes Akane smile.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>Ranma ½ and its characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.  
><strong>Warning: <strong>Slight OOC-ness. Beware.  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T

* * *

><p>A New Year<p>

* * *

><p>"Do you have any New Year's resolutions?"<p>

Ranma looked up at his fiancée, Akane Tendo. They were in her room, having just finished their holiday assignments, and were lounging about relaxing from their studies. Akane sat in her chair, tapping a pencil on her desk and sipping some tea. Ranma lay back on her bed, his hands locked behind his head, and glanced back up at the ceiling. He was very aware of how Akane was staring at him, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know," he said finally after a moment of thought. "Probably the same as last years."

"What was it last year?" Akane asked.

"Train harder, get stronger, all that good stuff," Ranma said in a dull monotone voice, as though he had said this all the time. Truthfully, he never really liked New Year's because it never really provided anything new, no surprises. After living on the road with his father, Ranma had learned not to expect much from the New Year because it really _was_ all the same. Akane frowned.

"That's the same as the year before last," she commented. "You don't have anything new this year?"

Ranma glanced at her. "Like what?"

Akane shrugged. "Like… Spending more time with the family," she offered. "Or have a positive outlook on every situation, even if it's a bad one, or maybe giving flowers to the people you love most, like your mom. You've never done that before, right?"

There was a short pause. "I don't know," he said again. "I've never really done anything other than train; it's always the same old thing. Don't you think it would be weird to try something different after doing the same thing for your whole life?"

Akane smiled at him. "You'll have a whole year to get used to it."

Ranma grinned back and turned on his side to face her. "Maybe," he said slowly, and then raised an eyebrow at her. "What about you? What are your New Year's resolutions?"

"Cook dinner at least once a week for the family," Akane said optimistically.

Ranma sat up so quickly that he felt temporarily dizzy. Shaking his head, he stared at her hard, refraining from cringing away from the sudden battle aura she emitted.

"You don't have a problem with my cooking, do you, Ranma?" Akane asked dangerously.

"As long as I'm not the one eating that slop," Ranma said. He ducked a punch aimed at his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Akane shouted furiously.

"Oh, come on, 'Kane!" Ranma shouted back, now dodging a roundabout kick intended for his stomach. "Don't you think you should try for something more reasonable? Why not go for "learn to cook"?"

"I know how to cook!"

Ranma snorted. "You know how to cook toxic waste," he said. "Not anything edible!" He stared at Akane as she slowly simmered with anger.

"Ranma, you _jerk!_"

He hurriedly dodged out of the way as she brought down her mallet with fury, but he had no chance of avoiding her foot as it came up to meet him; she kicked him hard in the chest, sending him soaring out of her window with a "And don't come back!" echoing after him.

"Akane!" Ranma yelled as he flew away from the house. "Change your resolution to "acting cute"!" All he heard was a distant "Shut up!" before the Tendo residence shrank out of sight. She had hit him especially hard this time; he had rocketed over the entire city of Nerima before landing painfully on the ground miles away in some forest that he never even knew had existed. Ranma nearly had a Ryoga moment too, not knowing where he was or which way to turn, but he got out of the forest quickly enough and asked the first person he came across for directions back to Nerima. By the time he got back, it was already two in the afternoon and his body ached from head to toe.

"Stupid tomboy," Ranma spat. Why did she have to hit him so hard? He was only telling her the truth… So what if she couldn't cook? He could cook well enough for the both of them; he didn't mind at all, he was a good provider. A surge of pride shot through him at the thought. That's right, he _is_ a good provider, Akane would never need anything if she were with him, he could give her anything she wanted, because that's what a man among men should do for his wife…

Ranma paused, blushed, and shook his head. He had been thinking about that for a while now, about him and Akane finally tying the knot. Of course, nothing he thought about it was actually serious; just imagination, but sometimes, he couldn't help but get his hopes up. He's even dreamed about it sometimes; waking up warm and comfortable in bed with Akane lying on his chest, and when she woke up, they would kiss passionately and Akane would tell him how much she loved him. It was a fantasy of sorts. When Ranma first dreamed of it, he had adamantly denied having any feelings for the tomboy at all, and had even resorted to treating a hurt and bewildered Akane even more cruelly than usual, but the dreams kept coming, a never ending desire that he would relive every night. And sometimes it would go further than just kissing to the point that Ranma had even moaned her name in his sleep and had to go to the bathroom for a cold shower in the middle of the night. And finally, after weeks and weeks of denial, Ranma finally admitted to himself that maybe being married to Akane wouldn't be so bad after all.

After realizing this, he couldn't help but act a little more awkward around her. It was so weird to look at the girl he's known for two years whom he's constantly had fights with and suddenly realize that he might actually like her. Yet at the same time, he began doing things for her that he's never done before. He began walking next to her on the sidewalk during their commute to and from school, and had sometimes even held her bag for her. Akane thought that he was just showing off to her, that he was just proving that he was stronger than her by carrying both of their bags and that she was a weakling, but the truth was… Well, that was the truth. Not that she was a weakling, because he knew she wasn't, but Ranma wanted to prove to her that she could rely on him for things, that she didn't need to be afraid to ask for help every once in a while, because he would always be there when she needed him…

He had also become both possessive and protective. Shampoo had ambushed him again on the way to school, but he and Akane were, once again, running late, so he tried to brush her off quickly, but Shampoo immediately thought that the reason he didn't' want her around was because of Akane, so she instantly challenged her to fight. Akane had accepted without hesitation, but before either of them could throw a punch, Ranma had stepped in front of Akane, lifted Shampoo by the collar of her shirt, and tossed her over the fence and into the river that flowed in the ditch beside the sidewalk. Mousse had showed up shortly afterwards, his glasses perched on top of his head, and mistook Akane for Shampoo. He hugged her so tightly that Ranma saw Akane gasping for breath. He had then forced them apart and punched Mousse so hard in the face that the blind duck was sent flying across the horizon. He had to face a fit Akane threw at him minutes later; she said that she could handle her own fights, that she didn't need Ranma to butt in, but he didn't care one bit. He wanted her to be sure that she would never have to lift a finger while he was around…

But then there was the fact that he seemed to notice her a lot more now. His eyes would flicker to her when she made the smallest movements, and it would be hard for him to avert his gaze. He had never realized how her skin glowed in the sunlight and how soft it looked to the touch, or how her cheeks would flush with pleasure when she was laughing, and how her hands were so small when he compared them to his own. He could dwarf her easily. And then there were her other body parts… Ranma's face reddened darkly. Yeah, he's always known that Akane's had an amazing body, but he never really paid that much attention to it until one evening, when Akane had reached across the table for the salt and Ranma caught an eyeful of her cleavage…

Ranma drew a deep, steady breath to calm his racing heart. He finally reached the gate to the Tendo residence and pushed it open, then treaded the stone pathway over to the porch and through the front door. The first thing he did after entering was head straight into the kitchen, where Kasumi was already beginning to make ozoni. She turned when he entered and smiled.

"You missed lunch," she said warmly, and then pointed into the fridge. "I left some sandwiches in the fridge for you in case you were hungry."

"Thanks!" Ranma said gratefully, and then raided the fridge, pulling out three sandwiches and some orange juice.

"Akane was upset at lunch today," Kasumi commented almost in passing, but Ranma could sense her curiosity. He gulped uneasily. "Did you two have another fight?"

"It's nothing to worry yourself over, Kasumi," Ranma said softly.

"I've noticed that you've been trying to be nicer to her," Kasumi said, smiling at him. Ranma blushed. "Akane's noticed too, she's been wondering if you're sick." She giggled when Ranma snorted.

"Figures she'd think that," Ranma muttered under his breath.

"She told me that you've been holding her bag for her when you two walk to school, too," Kasumi added. Ranma choked. Just how much has Akane been telling her? But then Ranma felt his eyes soften at Kasumi's next words. "She thinks you're really sweet, Ranma."

"S—She does?" he stuttered. "I thought she hated it."

Kasumi shook her head and started cutting up the Shitake mushrooms. "She did at first, but now she thinks it's cute."

"S—She does?" Ranma stammered a second time.

"Oh, come on, Saotome, how dense can you get?" said a voice from behind him. Ranma spun around and saw Nabiki standing in the door way, tapping the floor impatiently with her foot with a small smirk on her face. "Haven't you noticed that she hasn't hit you as much anymore? I certainly have; now we don't have to spend so much money on roof repairs."

Ranma stared at her curiously. She was right, Akane had refrained from hitting him for a while now, mainly because they hadn't gotten into any more arguments since Shampoo and Mousse attacked them. The only reason why he hadn't noticed this before was because he, himself, had been refraining from insulting her all day like usual. He realized that Akane usually only hits him when he says something stupid or mean to her, and that was, in fact, the reason why she hit him today, because he had insulted her cooking.

"I guess that's true," Ranma said slowly.

"What did you two lovebirds fight about?" Nabiki asked.

"Just the poisonous, atomic waste she calls cooking," Ranma said shortly. Kasumi giggled again and Nabiki's smirk widened.

"She told you her New Year's resolution, did she?" Nabiki said snidely.

Ranma huffed. "She's insane if she thinks she's going to cook once a week…"

"Oh, give her a chance, Ranma," Kasumi said, now dumping the mushrooms into a pot and grabbing a bag of mochi from the freezer and setting it on the counter to defrost. "I told her my New Year's resolution is to teach her how to cook. Don't you think that might help?"

Ranma brightened instantly. "Yeah, maybe that will help!" he said enthusiastically. "Thanks, Kasumi, you just saved us all!"

Kasumi smiled and Nabiki snorted in laughter. Ranma finished his late lunch and got up to go back to Akane's room. She would still be upset with him, he knew, but he didn't really mind. Usually if he pestered her long enough, she would give up and forgive him out of sheer irritation.

"Dinner will be ready by six," Kasumi called after him as he went upstairs. He waved a hand at her in acknowledgement and then knocked on Akane's door before entering without waiting for her answer. A book hit him square in the head as soon as he shut the door behind him.

"You can at least wait for me to say you can come in," Akane said waspishly. "What if I was changing?"

Ranma got a dazed look on his face at the thought of walking in on Akane while she was taking off her clothes, but he shook it off before she could notice. "Yeah, well, you weren't," he said offhandedly. "So no big deal, right?" He strode over to her bed and lied down on his stomach, stretching contentedly. "Hit me pretty far this time," he yawned, suddenly tired.

"You deserved it," Akane snapped. She turned to face her desk and continued to read some book that was open in front of her. Ranma watched her comfortably.

"Did you have any other New Year's resolutions?" he asked her, smirking slightly when he saw her stiffen with irritation. She shot him a sly glance that he rather didn't like, and he frowned.

"I was thinking that maybe I should spend some more time with Ryoga this year," she said, smiling. Ranma bristled immediately. "He's always getting me such nice gifts from the places he's visiting; I feel bad that I never get to see him that much."

"What about me?" Ranma muttered heatedly. Akane raised her eyebrows at him.

"What about you?"

Ranma very well wanted to say that she should be spending time with him, her fiancé, rather than with some lost idiot who couldn't find his way out of a bedroom closet, but he kept his mouth shut. He knew that Akane was likely to tease him if he actually said that, so, still simmering with jealousy, Ranma turned onto his side, showing her his back. Behind him, he heard Akane snort in laughter.

"Are you jealous, Ranma?"

"Why would I be jealous?" Ranma snapped.

"I don't know," Akane said reticently. "Why would you be?"

Ranma turned back over and glared at her hard. "I'm not jealous," he said stubbornly, but his mood lightened when Akane laughed. She stood up and stretched her back, moaning softly as she felt several pops in her spine. Ranma kept his eyes on her greedily; her shirt rose up just slightly, and from his position on her bed below her, he could easily spot her belly button and the soft skin under her shirt. He gulped and averted his eyes just as she relaxed her body. "Tired?" he asked, trying to sound normal.

Akane nodded and rubbed her eyes. "I think I need a nap," she said softly, and then glared at him. "So get out."

Ranma chuckled and rolled over to his other side again, closing the distance between him and the wall, and then patted the side of the bed he had just left; there was more than enough room for an extra person. "I got it nice and warm for you." He grinned at her as she blushed.

"No way, get out!" she shouted. She got up, grabbed his arm, and tried to pull him away from the wall and off the bed, but she might as well have tried moving a mountain for all the good it did her. Ranma laughed and snatched his hand back; Akane, still holding onto it tightly, squeaked as the movement forced her forward and she landed on the bed with a small oomph.

"Just relax…" Ranma yawned. He too could use a nice nap, now that he thought about it; his walk home had been a long one. He felt Akane stiffen next to him.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed. "What if someone comes in here?"

"Let them come," Ranma said. He looked down at her shocked expression before sighing. "Come on, Akane, we're only sleeping, it's not like we're doing anything… well, you know…" He trailed off and blushed. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, but he knew that he wouldn't leave even if he wanted to; Akane's bed was much more comfortable than his was, so he sighed and turned over so he was lying on his back. "Our dads went out to get beer and Nabiki and Kasumi were in the kitchen, last I saw them," he told her.

"Yeah, but…" Akane started weakly. Ranma closed his eyes and sighed, feeling relaxed.

"You won't even know I'm here," he murmured tiredly. True, Akane was lying down on the very edge of the bed, but Ranma couldn't blame her; when he rolled onto his back, he took up much more space on her small bed. He didn't mind though; he and Akane would be a little closer. He heard her sigh and opened one eye to peek down at her. She scooted closer to him so she wouldn't fall off the bed, and he tried to keep his mind out of the gutter when their sides pressed intimately together. Then Akane closed her eyes and snuggled into her pillows. Ranma waited until he heard her breathing even out before closing his own eyes and dropping off to sleep, but not before he snuck his arm under Akane's head and cradled her to his chest.

He fell asleep with the smallest of smiles gracing his lips.

oOo

The sun was beginning to set by the time Ranma opened his eyes. He wondered why he woke up in the first place, but then he heard a small giggle and looked up, where the door to the bedroom was just closing. He dropped his head back to the pillows, sighing, and looked at the clock.

It was already six in the evening. Kasumi must have come in to fetch them for dinner, and when she saw that they were sleeping, tried to leave quietly, but without success. Ranma sighed again and glanced down at his partner, realizing slowly that they had changed positions sometime during their nap. They were now on their sides, spooning, and Ranma had his arms wrapped tightly around Akane's waist. He froze temporarily, then relaxed and buried his nose in the junction of her neck and shoulder, gently kissing the skin there. Akane breathed in contentment and turned her head, allowing him more access. Ranma grinned against her and continued to press butterfly kisses against her neck, going up to her ear and back down.

"Time to wake up," he whispered. Akane shook her head slightly.

"Good dream…" Akane mumbled. Ranma gave a throaty chuckle and Akane opened her eyes, feeling his laughter vibrate from his chest against her back. She snapped her eyes open and sat up quickly, then looked around slowly, her eyes locking in on him. He smirked at her and opened his arms, as if ready to receive her again, but Akane immediately shot out of bed in a frenzy.

"Pervert!" she cried, rubbing her neck where he had been kissing her. Normally, Ranma would have said something mean back, but instead he threw his head back and laughed.

"That's not what you said two seconds ago," he whispered huskily. Akane blushed but grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and, with sudden strength, tossed him from her bed to the opposite side of the room. Ranma landed lightly on his feet and straightened up, grinning at her. "Do you often have good dreams like that?"

Akane's face was reddening more and more, but by now, Ranma couldn't be sure if it was from embarrassment or anger. Probably both. He shrugged his shoulders at her nonchalantly. "I dream about you too, you know," he admitted boldly. He didn't quite mind telling her, but he would, of course, keep the part where he had moaned her name private. "They're pretty good dreams, too."

"Get out!" Akane shrieked. She grabbed her book on her desk and chucked it at him. Ranma caught it deftly, and then tossed it to the floor, laughter still strong in his throat.

"Come on, Akane, it wasn't that big a deal!"

"You were molesting me in my sleep!"

"You liked it." Ranma ducked when Akane grabbed her desk lamp and threw it hard at his head.

"I did not!"

He stood with his hands held up in mock defeat. "Okay, okay, I'll leave," he said, sidling sideways to the door. He opened it and stepped out, but before he closed it again, he said loudly, "You know you liked it!" He closed the door just as he heard her scream in fury and humiliation. Ranma laughed so hard on the way downstairs that he knew his face must be red, too. He didn't know what quite came over him when he had started kissing Akane's neck. It was just… _there_, her skin pale and unblemished, as if waiting for his lips. And she said it had felt good, even though she had been dreaming, she had liked it… Feeling a little giddy, Ranma trotted down the stairs and into the dining room, where Kasumi was setting the table. She smiled knowingly at him when he entered and Ranma returned it with gusto.

"Need help?" he asked. Kasumi nodded and Ranma took a set of bowls from her and began to place them around each place setting at the table. Kasumi went back to the kitchen and brought back a steaming pot of rice, a plate of fish, and a small dish of takuan. She set the rice on a hot plate in the middle of the table before calling "Dinner!"

Soun and Genma arrived at the table first, having been just out on the porch playing shogi. Nabiki was second; she was at the table in the kitchen reading a magazine, followed by Happosai, who emerged from the next room. Akane was last to come down. Ranma noticed that her blush had disappeared, but she wouldn't meet him in the eye. Grinning, Ranma served her some rice before dishing some onto his plate and, winking at her, began to chow down.

oOo

Akane blushed slightly when Ranma winked at her, but turned her nose up and looked away. She played with her rice before eating it, and took her time to chew the grains before swallowing.

"Delicious, as always, Kasumi!" Soun said happily, already helping himself to a second serving of the rice, several steamed fish, and takuan.

"Thank you, father," Kasumi said. "Are we going out tonight to see the fireworks?"

"That's a wonderful idea," Genma commented, shooting a suggestive glance at Ranma and Akane. They both ignored him, but Akane saw Ranma blush slightly. "What do you say, Tendo? Right after dinner?"

"Sure, sure," Soun agreed. The rest of dinner consisted of places that the family would think best to view the fireworks.

"Why not the same place as last year?" Nabiki said uninterestedly. "On the top of the hill next to the valley. It's secluded there so it'll just be the family."

"That's a perfect place to view the fireworks," Kasumi said. The rest of the family agreed.

"And of course Ranma and Akane will stay behind and watch the house for us, right?" Genma said slyly.

"Why would I want to stay here alone with that tomboy?" Ranma said viciously, but beneath the table, he pressed his leg intimately against Akane, who had frozen in anger at what he said, but relaxed at his touch.

"Don't talk about your fiancée like that!" Genma said furiously. "I raised you better than that, boy!"

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma spat. It took them a while longer to finish dinner, as everyone kept refilling their bowls with Kasumi's delicious cooking, but at half past seven in the evening, they could hear the start of fireworks exploding in the distance.

"Oh my, they're already starting!" Kasumi gasped. Everyone hastily gulped down the rest of their meals and stood up. "Can I leave it to you two to clean up?" Kasumi asked Ranma and Akane, both of whom were still in their seats. They nodded. "All right then, we're off!"

"You two play nice," Nabiki smirked at them. Akane fumed and saw them to the door, slamming it loudly after they left. She then returned to the dining room, where Ranma was already stacking dirty bowls on top of one another to take to the kitchen.

"Dishwasher?" he asked. Akane nodded. Neither of them fancied doing the dishes that much, and when Kasumi wasn't here, they tended to throw everything into the dishwasher so they could spare themselves some time. Akane helped Ranma take everything back into the kitchen and then rinsed all of the bowls off before placing them in the dishwasher. Ranma set it and turned it on, and when they had finished, returned to the dining room to watch some television.

Akane couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic with Ranma in the room. All she seemed able to look at was him, and all she could smell was his musky scent, and whenever she thought back to their nap in her room, the places where he had kissed her seemed to tingle pleasantly. She reached a hand up and cupped her neck again, blushing. Ranma looked over at her at the movement, stared at her for a second, and then smirked.

"I knew you liked it…" he whispered. Akane snapped out of her daze and looked at him in surprise. His smirk widened and she glowered immediately.

"Don't kid yourself," she said waspishly. "I'm just trying to wipe the feeling away; it's gross." But she knew that Ranma knew better than that, for his smirk turned into a satisfied grin. "Don't smile like that," she said to him, trying to keep her own mouth from curling into a form of laughter.

"Like what?" he asked, still grinning.

"Like a pervert!"

Ranma threw his head back and laughed. Akane couldn't help but giggle too, but did it low enough so he wouldn't hear. When he calmed down, he glanced over at her thoughtfully, and then got up, grabbing her hand as he did so, and pulled her with him, ignoring her surprised squeak.

"What're you doing?" she asked a little harshly.

"Don't you want to see the fireworks?" He picked her up bridal style, walked to the backyard and jumped high into the air, landing softly on the roof. He sat down with her between his legs. Akane struggled in his lap.

"W—What—?" She squeaked when she felt Ranma press his lips against her neck again. She froze.

"Just enjoy it, 'Kane," he sighed. Akane conflicted with herself for a moment, old habits telling her to punch Ranma into oblivion, but he felt so warm and comfortable that she slowly relaxed in his arms and leaned her head against his chest.

They watched the fireworks for several hours, "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" as the bright colors illuminated the sky in multiple showers. Neither of them had a watch, so they didn't know what time New Year's finally struck; all Akane knew was that time was really flying incredibly fast. Before she knew it, the thunderous sound of many footsteps shook the foyer. Ranma picked her up again and jumped down to the back lawn, and then set her on her feet.

"Where're you going?" she asked, for once he had set her down, he walked not in the direction of the patio and living room, where the family was waiting, but jumped onto the stone fence lining the property. He smiled at her a boyish grin that made her heart skip a beat.

"I'll be back later," Ranma said, and then hopped over to the street on the other side. Akane had this wild urge to follow him, but thought better of it and headed inside to the house.

"Happy New Year!" Her family screamed at her. Akane grinned at them all before looking at the clock; it had just struck twelve at night. They stayed up several hours after that, drinking and partying and shouting their resolutions to each other. Genma and Soun drank most of the night away with beer and other alcohol, along with Happosai, who was pledging to steal at least one hundred panties a day in celebration of the New Year. Kasumi drank a little bit too, but had become rosy faced after finishing only half of her beer and kept smiling in a serene sort of way at everyone around her. Nabiki finished her beer for her and then started on a new one when she smirked at Akane and tossed her one, also.

"Have a sip," she said, grinning slyly at her baby sister. "Only for tonight."

Akane grinned back and took a sip before pushing it away with a look of disgust. Nabiki laughed. "And _that_, little sister," she said, taking back the beer, "is why you shouldn't drink until you're of age."

"You're only nineteen," Akane pointed out.

"What's a few years?" Nabiki took another sip of the beer and sighed.

It wasn't until two in the morning that Kasumi, who had finally sobered up a little, ushered everyone upstairs to bed.

"I'll have fresh ozoni in the morning for breakfast," she said. Akane was the first to leave the table. She couldn't help but feel rather lonely that Ranma hadn't participated in the celebration at all. She wondered what he was doing as she walked slowly up the stairs, but she couldn't think of anything that would require him to leave at this time of night. She closed the door to her room and looked sadly at her bed, where she and Ranma had been snoozing comfortably hours before, but then something flickered in the corner of her eye and she looked onto her desk, where there was a bouquet of wild flowers sitting there. Smiling, Akane picked them up and smelled them, and then noticed that a note had fallen out. She picked it up and read it, her heart swelling with warmth.

_ None of the flower shops are open downtown, so I went to the fields and picked some wild ones for you. I think it makes a pretty good New Year's Resolution to give flowers to the person I love most. Happy New Year, tomboy._

_~Ranma_

Akane held the flowers to her chest, her breathing suddenly fast. Did Ranma just tell her he loved her? She consulted the note again; "…give flowers to the person I love most…" she read out loud. And then she was smiling so brightly that it was amazing her dark room didn't light up. She noticed that there was a vase that was half filled with water sitting next to the window; Ranma must have put that there when he delivered the flowers. She gently set the wild bouquet in the vase and stared at them, the butterflies in her tummy making her feel ecstatic with excitement and giddiness.

Outside her window, perched high in a tree, Ranma felt his own smile tug at his lips as he saw that Akane happily accepted his gift, and he knew that the excitement on her face was reflected on his own.

Maybe this year wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all.

* * *

><p>Ozoni is a Japanese soup that is traditionally eaten the morning of New Year's. I'm half-Japanese, so my mom makes it for us every year. The most significant ingredient is mochi, a glutinous rice cake. I learned that the mochi is cut into squares in Eastern Japan, but is round in the West, so I suppose my family is somewhere from Western Japan ^^. Unfortunately, due to the sticky texture of mochi, it must be eaten with caution because a lot people choke to death while eating it, and the death toll due to choking is counted several days after New Year's celebration. Crazy, right? But it's yummy :D<p>

Takuan is the yellow pickles that you sometimes see in the anime. Those are more of an acquired taste, and they also have a very strong, pungent smell (it reminds me of kimchi), but I like eating takuan as a side dish.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's! Make some outrageous resolutions instead of the usual "lose weight" thing—how about "go skydiving" or "go deep sea fishing and catch a Marlin"? Well, actually, I guess it's a resolution list, not a bucket list… Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed my small gift to you! My resolution is to try to write more stories (key word is "try")!

ALSO I am aware that it is extremely unlikely for Ranma to find wild flowers that are still _alive_ during the winter season, but hey, lets just imagine he went far down south or something to get them. More romantic, wouldn't you say?

Thanks for reading! Review please! And have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! And shoutout to my bestest bud: Yellowspotlight89! Love ya!

~Miyopiyo


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